Basketball Comebacks

(This was written in 2006 for Men's Health magazine so it's somewhat dated. I thought I'd place it here. The photo shoots were done specifically for this story. There are two other players I did short stories on -- Ali Peek and Paolo Bugia. Maybe I'll post it one of these days.)

A Dynamite Comeback
To the man known as “Dynamite,” the news that he was going to be out of action for the highly-touted Fil-Am flavored RP team to the 2002 Busan Asian Games hit him with more destructive force than Shock and Awe. The 6’6 Danny Seigle earned the sobriquet for his explosive play and devastating drives to the hoop as a guard-forward for the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association. Together with the equally talented slotman Danny Ildefonso and point guard non-pareil Olsen Racela, they had presided over the sole remaining original PBA franchise’s second dynasty with one spectacular championship title run after another from 1999 to 2002.

The Fil-Am invasion of the late 90s had inspired visions of a return to hoop dominance in a country where basketball is religion and a way of life. And after 40 years of lackluster finishes, the Jong Uichico-mentored national squad had a chance to compete despite the NBA-flavored Chinese team that had the League’s top pick in 7’5 center Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and 7’0 Menk Bateer of the Detroit Pistons.

With three days before the Busan Games were to open, the RP Team was playing a meaningless tune-up game with the National Team of Qatar. The Filipinos were thoroughly in control of the game and the outcome already decided way back in the game’s opening period when Seigle went up to reject an errant Qatari shot.

As he landed he felt a sharp pain in his leg – he had ruptured an Achilles tendon. “I immediately knew that it was bad,” recalled Danny. Bad was an understatement in hindsight. The RP Team finished a dismal fourth after a promising start and Seigle hobbled through an assortment of injuries and operations for the better part of two years even missing the entire 2003 season. “I never felt more useless,” added the San Miguel swingman.

“Danny had an Achilles tendon tear which I repaired right away,” recalled Dr. George Canlas who specializes in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. “Injuries like these are because of the high level of stress that is placed on the legs and feet. Danny like most high leapers are susceptible to this kind of injury.”

What made Danny’s comeback excruciatingly more painful and frustrating was just as he was finding his range on the court, bone spurs on both feet curtailed his effectiveness and set him back for a longer period of time.

Said veteran trainer Hercules Callanta whose resume includes being the trainer for the UP Maroons and Shell: “Coming back from a serious injury requires a lot of patience, perseverance, and pain tolerance. Most are able to go back to competitive shape but you’ll notice them favoring their injured body part. They have to learn to cope with the pain and play with it. Some lose a degree of functionality.”

He tried playing for a bit but the pain prevented him from being effective. So he went back under the knife. “Within a span of a year and a half, Danny had three major surgeries,” added Dr. Canlas who does all his surgeries at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City. “The therapy and conditioning program that followed was intensive and rigid. You have to give it to the boy, he stayed faithful to the program and was dedicated to getting back to the player he once was, if not even better.”

Dondi Narciso, San Miguel Beer’s Physical Therapist stayed with Danny while he was rehabbing in the States. “All those long months were starting to take a toll on Danny,” recounted Narciso. “He began to second guess himself and wondered if he’d ever make it back. But you have to hand it to Danny. He stayed with the program.”

And when he finally made it back? “Man, just being on the court again as a player rather than an expensive cheerleader – that was a huge relief! Now I’m able to slash towards the basket again and go high up for a dunk or rebound. I never enjoyed the game more.”

Nine Lives Minus One = Landing Back on this Cat’s Feet
After a celebrated stint with La Salle in the UAAP where he displayed a game and poise far beyond his years, Mike Cortez was snatched away by the Alaska Aces as the top pick overall in the 2003 draft. The pro game however was a quantum leap for Cortez as he struggled between orchestrating the Aces’ vaunted triangle offense and trying to score. But it wasn’t such a bad rookie year for this Cool Cat who was closely edged out by Talk N Text’s Jimmy Alapag for Rookie of the Year. He played in all 56 games of the Aces and averaged 11.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists for the Uytengsu franchise.

After a season’s worth of experience and settling down as the team’s starting point guard, Mike upped his numbers from his rookie year and got an invitation to join the national team training pool. It was during his sophomore year when Mike suffered a freak lower back injury that shut him down for over two months.

“I was stretching with a trainer when he accidentally pushed down too hard,” remembered Mike. “I immediately felt the muscle pull and it just really hurt right away. I got scared, man.

Normal back injuries require rest and inflammatory medication, what complicated Mike’s treatment was he was allergic to that sort of remedy. “I couldn’t take those so it was just rest and trying not to exert myself,” he recounted with a tinge of pain. “Man, I normally sleep on my chest so this time around I had to lie on my back on a hard surface, something I’m not used too. But if it was the way to get better, then I had to do it.”

Mike’s back would lock up on and off. The most simple of movements such as looking back or turning would hurt. To exacerbate things, he suffered a pinched nerve. He would watch his team at a distance and being on the sidelines as a cheerleader was something this six-foot guard out of San Jose, California wasn’t used to. “I knew I had to get better,” he vowed. “I had to.”

After a variety of doctors cleared him to return, Mike first took to the gym to do weights to strengthen his back It took him three games to get comfortable once more with his place in the team’s offense but when he did, he began to put up sparkling numbers that people have expected from this Cool Cat.

“Every athlete fears an injury,” explained the tough Alaska point guard. “They can say what they want about pro athletes about their lack of love for the game, but that’s not true. Not all the money in the world will can make you happy doing something you don’t want to do. But for me, basketball is it.”